Exporting a VM to an OVF from VMware Workstation for Import into the CenturyLink Cloud

Updated by Jake Malmad on Apr 16, 2013

Description

OVF (Open Virtualization Format) is an open standard for packaging and distributing virtual machines or virtual appliances. The OVF standard is not proprietary, and thus cross-platform compatible regardless of hypervisor (VMware, Hyper-V,
Xen). This article details the steps associated with exporting a virtual machine from VMware Workstation for import into the CenturyLink Cloud.

Steps

Launch VMware Workstation. In the “Library” pane, select the machine you wish to export.

Select “File” -> “Export to OVF”. A dialog box will appear asking to specify the destination directory in which the OVF will be saved. Browse to the desired location and click “Save”.

A progress bar will be displayed showing the task completion.

To reduce file transfer time, and ensure file integrity, it is recommended to use an archival tool such as the open source 7zip to compress the OVF folder. Once the archive is created, it is advised calculate a checksum to ensure the
integrity of your files. This can be done in most archival programs, in 7zip, simply highlight the archive and go to “File” and selecting “Calculate Checksum”. The checksum value can provided to the CenturyLink Cloud NOC to ensure the integrity of the uploaded
archive.

Upload the archive to the provided FTP location for import.

Additionally, the same procedure can be performed with OVF Tool. Once the OVF tool is downloaded, launch a command prompt or terminal window in the appropriate location. While
the OVF tool can perform advanced configuration commands, the simplest operation is:

Thank you for your submission. A representative will be reaching out to you within 24 hours.

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone Number

Company (optional)

Job Title (optional)

Comments (optional)

What type of support do you need?

We have expert agents ready to assist you,
whether you're using Cloud Application Manager or any one of
the services available on the CenturyLink Cloud platform.
Click below to be directed to the appropriate team.